Special SectionWhat It Takes . . .
Have you got the goods to pedal 3,600 miles (5,794 kilometers) across America? Skipper a sailboat in the Caribbean? Summit Denali? The answers might surprise you. Here are some of the best dream adventures you can make happentoday. Plus: A special foldout of once-in-a-lifetime trips worth breaking the bank for. Read excerpt >>

BY TOM CLYNES AND THE EDITORS

. . . To Be a Jungle Apprentice
Since he was a kid glued to Bwana Don's Safari TV show on Saturday mornings, JIM THORNTON has fantasized about running off to the rain forest. But when he signs on to a hard-core eco-tour into the deepest Amazon, will his Huaorani hosts offer more viper-dodging, blowgun-firing, monkey-chasing fun than one man can handle? Read excerpt >>

Photo Gallery
Writer and photographer tell it like it was with outtakes from their outrageous Amazon eco-tour. Enter gallery >>

Secret Worlds of the Black Hills
Scaling spectacular granite towers, bombing first-rate singletrack, and plumbing the depths of one of the world's longest cavesit's all in a hard day's recreation in South Dakota's storied multisport haven. Read excerpt >>

BY LAURENCE GONZALES

Welcome to the Neighborhood
Hunted to near-extinction just 40 years ago, the North American mountain lion is back in greater numbers than when Columbus came ashore. In the fast-spreading suburban sprawl of the West, recreational bikers and hikers are encroaching on their hunting grounds. The rising number of lion attacks on humans indicates that, this time, the big cats have every intention of defending their territory. Read excerpt >>